"Lisa, come here. I want to show you something," Fabian said. He took her hand and led her to one of the trailers near the vardo. It was a silver Airstream that looked so much like a pillbug Lisa wondered if it would roll up if she poked it. Fabian knocked on the door and a woman about her age answered it.
"Hi, Fab."
"Hi Taryn. This is Lisa Kreider. Lisa, this is my sister Taryn." Taryn put out a hand with a smile and Lisa took it, smiling back.
"I'm so glad to finally meet you!" Taryn said. "Come in. Please." She stepped aside to let Lisa and Fabian enter the trailer. Lisa stopped dead, put a hand to her mouth, and squealed softly.
"Ohhh!" she cried. "How cute!" Taryn's living area seemed full of English bulldog puppies. Lisa looked from Taryn to Fabian. "Bruiser's?" she asked. Fabian grinned and nodded; Taryn rolled her eyes.
"Taryn is our dog trainer," Fabian explained, "and has a lot of dogs for her show. They mostly live with other people when they're not performing."
"I'd rather have them fostered than penned up," Taryn added. "Thankfully, the folks in the carnival don't mind."
"Gertrude is Taryn's pet." Fabian gestured to the mother bulldog.
"I try to keep her inside," Taryn said, "especially when she's in heat. But it's sometimes just not possible. So Gertrude and Bruiser had a little date one night before we left to come here."
"Gertrude and Bruiser are from the same kennel," Fabian added, "but not related. Except now through their family."
"So is this the reason you told me you were in the doghouse with Taryn?" Lisa asked. Fabian grinned and nodded; Taryn groaned.
"Oh, they are so adorable!" Lisa knelt down. A maple brown puppy with a white stripe down his nose and black muzzle scrambled over to her immediately and Lisa obliged with scratches and pats. He was the very image of "roly-poly" -- from his beady puppy eyes to his wrinkled skin and stubby tail. The other puppies soon noticed that their brother was on to something good and joined him. Lisa was almost overwhelmed by puppies and started laughing.
"If she wants one," Fabian said softly to his sister, "give it to her."
"What?! Fabian, those are purebreds!" Taryn hissed. "You know what I can get for one of those -- you paid for Bruiser. That's the only reason I'm not still mad at you!"
"I'll pay it. Give it to her." Taryn stared at him in shock.
"Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" she demanded.
"Shut up and just do me a favor, will you please?" Fabian frowned. "Besides. They're half Bruiser, which makes them half mine. Any news on Franco?"
"No." Taryn shook her head. "The mill owners checked the races and the part of the lake they spill into. The police checked the banks. There was no sign that anyone was anywhere close that could have slipped or jumped in on purpose. There's no evidence that anyone has been near the mill races at all. Mom feels a little better about that, but ... I can't believe we haven't heard anything from him."
Fabian frowned again.
"I know. He's done stuff for attention before, but he usually gives up by this time. I'm getting really worried, Tar."
"Me too."
A low bark from Gertrude sent most of the puppies scampering across the room, and Lisa stood.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't resist cute."
"Looks like cute can't resist you, either," Taryn said. The brown puppy had one of her shoelaces in his mouth and was pulling on it, growling.
"Hey, buster!" Lisa laughed, bending down to pick up the puppy. "That's my foot!" The puppy just grinned a doggy grin like Bruiser's, then started licking Lisa's hands and arms.
"I think you've made a friend," Fabian laughed.
"He'd follow you home, Lisa," Taryn agreed. "Want to keep him?"
"Oh, I couldn't," Lisa said. The puppy squirmed, trying to get closer to her.
"You could," Fabian encouraged. "You know Bruiser would want you to. Besides. The little guy chose you. Can you really say no to him? Look him in the eye and tell him he can't come live with you."
"Fabian!" Lisa laughed. "That's just mean!"
"They've all been registered and had their shots," Taryn told her. "I've made a start at housebreaking. That's what all those blue things are all over my floor. I train dogs -- it's what I do."
"I don't have a single thing for a puppy," Lisa said. "Can you hang on to him until I have dishes and a leash and everything?"
"Sure. Here." Taryn opened a kitchen drawer and produced a small collar, tag, and an indelible ink pen. She wrote on the tag, put it on the collar and then put the collar on the squirming, ecstatic puppy.
"Buster?" Lisa asked, looking at the tag and laughing.
"Isn't that what you named him?"
"No -- it was a figure of speech, but it is a good name for him. Hey, Buster!" Lisa cuddled the puppy, who tried to lick her face, hair, and everything he could reach.
"He is crazy about you," Taryn said. "I don't think I've ever seen a puppy react like this to someone. He's definitely yours. They're ready to leave Gertrude, so whenever you're ready, he'll be here. If he lets you leave." Lisa tried to put Buster down and he struggled to avoid it. Lisa laughed again.
"I'll come back for you, little man," she assured him and carried him over to Gertrude. "Go on -- stay with your mom and your brothers and sisters for now." She put him in the dog bed with the others. A sudden though occurred to her and she tried to push it aside -- that Fabian had arranged this so she'd have something to remember he and Bruiser by after they left.
"This is a cheap date," Taryn teased. "Taking your girlfriend to see the puppies. Ooo!"
"The evening isn't over yet," Fabian replied.
"And we have reservations at the Tavern," Lisa added. "I probably would have really had puppies all over me if we'd come here after dinner."
"Lisa, you did have puppies all over you." Fabian wrapped an arm around her and kissed the side of her head. "You're just adorable. Ready to go?"
Lisa noticed an odd expression on Taryn's face.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Taryn shook herself and smiled.
"Nothing," she said. "Let me know when you're ready for Buster. And any time you need a puppy-sitter, feel free to bring him back. I'll have him all trained for you in no time."
Lots of official looking envelopes in the carnival mail call today. -- overheard at the post office.
Fabian led Dave into the Frog Pond.
"It's not going to improve anything," he told his friend, "but maybe you can escape for a while." As he scanned the room looking for a table, he did a double-take. In a booth in the corner was a very familiar bald man.
"What's Dante doing here?" Dave asked.